Summitville (800?) Built 1938
July 21, 2025
July 21, 2025
My elementary school growing up was called Shipshe-Scott. This is because the original high school that once was housed in the building was a consolidation of the Shipshewana and Scott high schools in northwestern LaGrange County. To us kids, it was just Shipshe. All the kids who went there were either from Shipshe or the countryside just outside of it. I knew the high school was named Westview when I was younger, but I didn't really think of the fact that there were kids from another community going to it. This all changed when I got to 4th grade and us Shipshe kids formed an AAU basketball team with the kids from the south side of the corporation in Topeka. It was like a whole new world had opened up. These kids seemed to be "different" from us for reasons I don't even really remember. I do remember it being a little weird at first, but we soon became fast friends and teammates. The next year we all went to school together at the intermediate building, and I probably never thought about it again until now. Shipshe and Topeka are two tiny agricultural towns in the heart of Amish country. While Shipshe is a big tourism hub for outsiders, to the people who actually live in there, it isn't really any different from Topeka. People from both communities consider themselves Westview Warriors. There isn't some big delineation between the two places. It's been this way since the 70s, when the sting of consolidation had worn off and people found that the basketball teams were maybe even a little better when combined into one. After college, I left Shipshewana and ended up out in the country north of Anderson. As I became familiar with the surrounding schools during my time attending basketball games, one reminded me a lot of home: Madison-Grant. Situated right on State Road 9 between two small farming communities, when I went to a game there a couple years ago, it just felt so familiar. The people, the sense of shared community, and a love for basketball were evident. At the end of this summer, I had the opportunity to visit both town's old gyms on the same day. While the people of Madison-Grant now share a common bond, it was neat to get to learn about and experience the history of both individually.
My first stop was Summitville, which is now one of two elementary schools that serve Madison-Grant. A school has been on the grounds here for well over a hundred years, but over that time it has gone through a slew of changes. The full history is fascinating, and can be read about HERE on my friend Ted's blog Hiding in Plain Sight. What struck me first after reading about the history of the school, was that it claims one of the more diabolically wonderful mascot names that I've come across: the Goblins. Sinister and spooky mascot names have been a dime a dozen throughout our state's basketball history, but this ghoulish moniker is way more interesting than the multitude of iterations of "devil" that I've come across in my research. Not only is the name unique and cool, but the classic logo you'll find in a few spots around the gym is just awesome. It looks like a cheeky version of Rumpelstiltskin running around with a menacing lance of some sort. I just love it. The Summitville Goblins only won two sectionals, but in both those years (1926 and 1949), they were also regional champions. That was a monumental achievement for a tiny school like Summitville. Those teams were remembered well beyond their years for their heroic achievements, and rightfully so. I'm guessing I would be hard pressed to find anybody in 2025, but I would love to talk to someone who was around for that 1949 run. I can only imagine what a tizzy the whole town was probably thrown into. That team lost in Indianapolis to Madison who was a perennial power at the time. They were close to being Milan, before Milan. If I could only go back in time...
This is the first old gym I've visited that is part of an active elementary or middle school. These gyms are hard to access since they're almost always being used during the school day. The beginning or end of summer is about the only chance I have. I am thankful I was finally able to make it happen. While many gyms in these situations have been altered fairly significantly over the years to fit the needs of the current schools, Summitville thankfully has not. It looks much like it did when it opened almost 90 years ago. The first thing that slaps you in the face when you walk in is how yellow everything is. I've really grown to appreciate gyms that embrace this color scheme (Cowan comes to mind). It's not a golden yellow either, it's a true yellow. It's on the walls, signs, bleachers, everywhere. It's very cheery in a way that isn't obnoxious. The bleachers here are unsurprisingly my favorite feature. They are the permanent wood variety that run along each sideline. They go wall to wall on one side, and are just a little shorter on the other as there are breaks in the corners for entrances to the gym. On both sides they are painted yellow on the bottoms with black bench seats on top. It looks very sharp. They go up 7 rows on each side. On the walls above them are humongous, beautiful windows that mercifully have never been blocked in. On this sunny afternoon they bathed the whole place in natural light. I almost asked if I could turn off the overhead lights to see what it would have looked like without them.
If the bleachers are my favorite thing in the gym, what lies at the bottom of them is a close second. I don't think the scorer's table here is original, but it's still awesome. It features the classic Goblin logo that I described earlier with "Summitville Goblins" written on either side of it against a piece of wood that has been stained a gorgeous rich mahogany color. Behind the scorer's table are two chairs that look like they might be original, or at least very, very old. Once has "S'ville Timer Only" written on it, and the other has "S'ville Scorer Only" written on it. They're so unique, and act as a teleportation device that seems to take you right back to the late 40s when that great Goblin team was making its run. I don't know why they've been kept all these years, but I'm so thankful that they have. The baseline wall near the main entrance to the gym has been "elementarized" a fair amount, but does feature a modern banner with the Goblin logo hanging high in the corner. The opposite baseline features an original stage that is quite pretty. It is framed in yellow and has the original "S" stitched into the upper curtain ribbon. It's easy to imagine high school graduations and plays being put on here along with ballgames. The hardwood floor is stained a perfect golden color with a tidy "S" emblazoned at half court against a yellow background inside the small center circle. As you walk out, you pass the stairs that lead underneath the bleachers to maybe the old locker rooms? If not, then I assume storage.
I wondered if any of these old gyms that are now a part of elementary/middle schools would have any memorabilia from their days as high school gyms. Thankfully, Summitville does! There are old game balls and pictures amongst other things from past teams. It is nice to see that heritage honored. I hope in some small way that it helps the kids that come through the school each day realize there was a time that existed before their own. As a third grader teacher, I know for many kids that is a foreign concept. I wasn't sure what to expect when I walked into the Summitville gym on this day. I could not find a single picture of it anywhere online ahead of time. What I found was a place that may be forgotten to a majority of Hoosiers today, even those who love high school basketball, but is still cherished by the people in the community whom it served for all those years and love it the most. Just like when I visited Madison-Grant, it felt familiar. In some small way, it felt like home. To many people, I'm guessing it feels like that in a much bigger way.
